What’s Included in a Pool Cleaning Service?

A Straight-From-the-Field Guide by Happy Frog Pools (Spring, TX)

Most homeowners think “pool cleaning” means a quick skim and a splash of chlorine. In Houston, Spring, and The Woodlands — that’s how you end up with algae, cloudy water, and expensive repairs. A real weekly service is thorough, consistent, and built for our heat, storms, and nonstop debris.

Here’s exactly what a professional weekly cleaning service really includes (and what it doesn’t), based on real experience from servicing thousands of Texas pools.

1. What’s Included Every Week

✔ Skimming Surface & Deep Debris

Leaves, pollen clumps, pine needles, bugs — all removed before they sink and rot.

✔ Full Wall, Tile Line & Step Brushing

No dead spots, no skipped areas. Brushing is the #1 algae prevention step most techs skip.

✔ Vacuuming (Manual or Hammerhead)

Light debris? Manual vacuum. Heavy debris? Commercial Hammerhead vacuum.

✔ Emptying All Baskets

Skimmer baskets, pump baskets, and robot filters if needed.
Clogged baskets = poor circulation = algae.

✔ Full Chemistry Test

Every visit includes checks on:
FC, pH, TA, CYA, CH, temperature, and salt (if applicable).

✔ Chemical Balancing

Chlorine, acid, stabilizer, salt — whatever the pool needs that day.
Always dosed to Houston’s UV and debris load.

✔ Equipment Check

Pump health, filter PSI, leak inspections, circulation strength, jet angles, salt cell scaling.

✔ Backwash When Needed

Not on a schedule — only when PSI rises and performance drops.

✔ Before/After Photo Report

Every visit documented for transparency.

✔ Dog Waste Removal (Happy Frog Exclusive)

Pool clean + yard clean in the same visit, every week.

2. Local Conditions That Shape Houston Pool Service

Spring and The Woodlands hit pools harder than most places:

• Heavy oak leaves, pine needles, and pollen waves

• High UV that eats chlorine quickly

• Sudden storms filling pools overnight

• High humidity → faster algae growth

• Irregular pool shapes causing dead zones

• Mosquito season spiking organic load

• Older neighborhoods with iron/calcium issues

That’s why Houston pool service isn’t “basic maintenance.” It’s proactive defense.

3. What I Typically Find on First-Time Visits

Most new customer pools show the same patterns:

• Chlorine almost zero

• pH drifting high

• CYA sky-high from overusing tablets

• Pumps running only 4–6 hours/day

• Skimmer baskets packed with leaves

• Filter PSI way too high

• Jet angles wrong → dead zones → algae

• Dull, slightly green, or flat water

• Calcium scale on the tile line

In Houston, these issues don’t take long to snowball.

4. Chemistry Decisions: How a Pro Thinks

Here’s how I decide what the water needs:

Chlorine Dose:

FC below 3 ppm with healthy CYA.

Shock:

After storms, heavy debris, algae hints, or when CC > 0.5.

Drain/Dilution:

CYA above 70–80 ppm or CH above 450+.
(Houston tablet pools hit this a LOT.)

Acid:

pH above 7.8.

Add Stabilizer:

CYA below ~30 ppm in summer sun.

Salt Adjustments:

When the cell’s efficiency drops or levels fall below range.

5. Equipment Problems I Catch Before They Get Expensive

Most equipment issues start small:

• Air leaks at pump lid O-ring

• Bubbles returning to pool

• Filter pressure too high

• Multiport valve seeping

• Broken weir doors

• Skimmer throat cracks

• Salt cell scaling

• Underground suction leaks (you can hear them at the pump)

Catching these early saves homeowners hundreds to thousands.

6. One Thing I Do Every Week That Most Techs Don’t

Full brushing. Every single visit. Even when the pool is crystal clear.

It’s the difference between a pool that “looks good today” and a pool that stays perfect year-round.

7. Real Case Study: Weekly Service Saves Thousands

One Spring homeowner dealt with monthly algae blooms for a full year.
When I took over:

• Fixed jet angles & circulation dead spots

• Reduced CYA from 120 → 45 through dilution

• Maintained real weekly brushing + correct FC levels

The pool has stayed crystal clear for over a year, with no algae and no emergency cleans. Preventative service is cheaper every time.

8. What Homeowners Think Is Included (But Isn’t)

These are not part of a standard weekly cleaning anywhere:

• Deep filter cleans

• Major algae treatments

• Equipment repairs

• Partial drains

• Heavy post-party cleanup

• After-storm specialty vacuuming

• Tile descaling

• Acid washing

(They can be done — but they’re separate services.)

9. The Myth That Needs to Die

“If I pay for weekly service, my pool will never need extra work.”

Not in Houston.
Our UV, heat, storms, and debris load guarantee that extra brushing, chemicals, and filter work will occasionally be necessary — even with perfect weekly care.

Final Word

A real weekly service isn’t a quick skim.
It’s a full health check, a deep clean, and a preventive strategy that keeps your water clear, your equipment alive longer, and your yard clean — all in a single visit.

That’s why Happy Frog Pools runs cleaner pools than anybody else in Spring.